Critical Commentary 1: Validity of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders Axis I in Clinical and Research Settings

Jean-Paul Goulet, DDS, MSD, FRCD (C)

The authors of the Focus Article1 present a critical appraisal of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) Axis I and its classification system. They recognize the impact that the cornerstone paper published by Dworkin and LeResche in 1992 has had on clinical research.2 Research has since yielded important changes and the authors raise a number of important issues, some being very well supported while others are more debatable. The authors conclude that the time has come to update and broaden the scope of the RDC/TMD, which should be more clinically oriented and better oriented to treatment decision making. My commentary addresses the major points from each of the four sections of the Focus Article.

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